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Month: April 2006

Ivan is 5 months old today. I intended to weigh him and measure his length but I never got a chance to do it. I will hopefully be able to check that in the next couple of weeks.

Here he is showing his cousin Faith how to play with the toys on his play mat. With this 5 month milestone Ivan is reaching and grabbing and gaining more and more dexterity in his hands. He found his feet a couple weeks ago and loves to pull on them and also uses them to help hold toys he is playing with in his hands. He looks like a little monkey. He is definitely gaining eye hand coordination, He looks at things intently and then reaches for whatever it is with accuracy. Once again his progress is a two edged sword, as I am excited for his ability but it brings added caution as he can now grab at things that he shouldn’t play with.

He is still sleeping at least an hour between each feeding and is a very happy baby as long as he has something interesting to look at. He will often cry if there is nothing captivating in front of him, but a simple word in his direction will bring a smile and if he can sit upright to watch me work he is content. He is rolling over in his crib a lot at night but finds himself unable to roll back to a comfortable sleeping position. This is annoying, as I end up getting up to roll him back over, replace his pacifier and pray he goes back to sleep.

When he is left on his tummy, he will often pull his legs under him and pushes up with his hands so that he is almost in a crawling position. He scoots himself backward this way but has not learned, by any stretch of the imagination, how to direct himself. He likes to lay on his back on his little play mat and will swat, grab and pull on the toys dangling from above for a good 30 minutes after a feeding. This is a blessing and I am so glad for his ability to play. He loves watching Owen play too and Owen is learning the joy in making his little brother laugh.

It has been a great 5 months so far and I’m looking forward to each new accomplishment. Tomorrow we leave for Michigan and it looks like we are in for a rainy drive. We will be stopping in Indianapolis for the night with some friends so that I can break up the trip for me and for the boys. I think Grandpa is going to get a kick out of “Big I”.

Ivan rolled over for the first time last night. I had been watching him squirm around earlier in the day and thought I might get to witness his first roll, but he was lying on his back and though he was very close to it, he never actually made the transition to his tummy. Then when it was bedtime I had wrapped him in his blanket and laid him on my bed on his tummy. I was at the computer so I wasn’t looking at him. He started fussing and I ignored it for a while and when I finally looked, he was on his back. He has officially started rolling over. Now I have to watch him more closely, can’t just leave him on the couch on a blanket. He is very strong and can be very determined. He has also started playing with toys. This is something I looked forward to. He started reaching for things just before we left for Florida (April 2nd) and has been learning how to use his hands to get things to his mouth. He is making good progress. I expect that he will be able to hold his own bottle soon as well. Next he’ll be crawling and getting in to everything. It’s not a scenario I look forward to, but I can’t help being excited for him regardless of the inconvenience to myself.